Raider should hope Broncos keep Cutler

It’s better for the Raiders if the Broncos are true to their public stance that they want to keep quarterback Jay Cutler.
I remember writing a column two years ago how Cutler was in a much better situation than JaMarcus Russell, given that he was being instructed by Mike Shanahan in a system which wasn’t going to change.

Russell, meanwhile, could be looking at a coaching staff overhaul if Lane Kiffin didn’t work out.

Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Having observed Cutler from the outside for two years, he strikes me as a front-runner who is fine when things are going his way, only to morph into a sullen, spoiled brat when faced with adversity. He’s shown it on the field, in his post-game demeanor, and of late with the news that Josh McDaniels was interested in Matt Cassel.

I believe it was Mel Kiper Jr. who compared Cutler to Jeff George. Not bad.

Russell has some work to do in terms of conditioning and maturity, but he’s rich, young and wealthy and can’t expected to be perfect.

He handled the whole Al Davis-Lane Kiffin situation, as well as the transition to Tom Cable, with an uncommon grace for a quarterback so young. Contrast that with how Cutler is acting now.

As much as San Diego’s Philip Rivers is reviled for his on-field demeanor, he’s a quarterback the home team and home fans can get behind, even if everyone else can’t stand him.

If the Broncos dump Cutler, don’t be surprised if his teammates are on board.

Jumping to more conclusions leading into a non-work related weekend schedule which will leave me away from a computer most of the time:

— The only way McDaniels isn’t mishandiing the situation is if his plan all along was to alienate Cutler to the point where he can start his regime with a new quarterback.

— A thinly veiled attempt at sarcasm during a live chant apparently has some readers thinking I’m of the opinion the Raiders are shopping Russell.

In response to a question about the Raiders doing just that, my two word response was “Real quietly.”

To which I probably should have included (insert sarcasm here).

Considering that earlier in the chat I’d responded to a “bust” question by saying Russell needs three full years (on the field, the contract impasse negates year 1) on the field before you think about applying that tag, and to a later question defending his accuracy over the last several games, I thought it was fairly clear

— The stealth trade talk with Russell has been going on simultaneously with the Raiders’ official request to change uniform colors and negotiations which will culminate with Davis and Kiffin jointly announcing they’ll let bygones be bygones.

— Nnamdi Asomugha is back in the country, and USA Today prepared a lengthy profile on the Raiders cornerback who scored the biggest prize in free agency.

Not much in it we didn’t already know about Asomugha’s character, diversified outside interests and dedication to his craft, but it does nothing but validate the decision of Davis to bring him back at a steep price.

Assuming the Raiders bring Asomugha back for a third year, it makes a lot more sense for Davis to pay him $45.3 million than it does the Washington Redskins to pay $48 million over four years (plus back-end fluff) for injury-prone, driving-challenged Albert Haynesworth.

— Stanford’s center Alex Fletcher won the Big Game “Axe” over Alex Mack in terms of the bench press, pumping 225 pounds 31 times to 20 for the Golden Bear.

If they ever decide to decide a tie game with bench press reps, that’s a big deal.

Reminds me of the time the 49ers took Jim Druckenmiller the year his representatives demonstrated the quarterback’s strength by his ability to wear a harness and tow a car.

All the agility, strength and speed stuff is well and good for purposes of documentation, but the ability to play football and what happens during the interview process is of more importance.

Someone like Mack no doubt scored huge points in the chalk talk and film room with his enthusiasm for technique and love of football. He confessed to reporters it was hurting him to watch Cal teammates going through spring football because he loved playing so much and couldn’t be a part of it.

— If the Raiders are going to make any inquiries regarding Roy Williams, it ought to be soon. The free agent safety visited the Bengals, so he’s looking at teams with losing records and his money demands might be getting somewhere in Oakland’s wheelhouse.

That’s if they want to go down that road. Given the way the Raiders have operated so far, they’re more likely to find a younger player with more tread on the tires.

— I’ve always supported an overtime system that gives a team a chance to score if the opponent scores first. Seems only fair.

But the Player’s Association shot down the idea of changing overtime with the competition committee, so the coin toss will remain a big part of determining winners and losers when regulation play ends in a tie.

— The contract of Raiders cornerback Chris Johnson remains on a milk carton some place. He’s appearing at offseason workout program, both he and his agent have confirmed that he’s signed, and he’s got a deal on file with the NFLPA.

No word in transactions on Raiders.com, nor an announcement of the signing of a key starter _ even though it happened more than a month ago.

But hey, they were quick to get the signing of Jason Horton out there.

“Let’s say that Michael Oher or Jason Smith is available at #7, which almost surely will happen. They take him. Now, they are not going to make the mistake they made with Rob Gallery and throw him out there to the lions”

I couldn’t agree more.

Good point Oakglenn

Or we take a Center either way the OL is going to get the high draft picks and the DL will be addressed in later rounds.

Protecting Russell at this point seems to be a higher priority then stopping the run.
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Protecting Russell should be our top priority triple six. When he has had time, Russell was fantastic. I feel we could get one of the marquee tackles, see if Sean Smith the Safety out of Utah is still available at 40, and then grab one of the marquee centers in the 3rd round. done and done.

S&B (BJ Raji / Tyson Jackson @ 7 because run d is 31st)

Here’s a trade that should make everyone happy!

Oakland Raiders trade their #7 pick to Cleveland for:

Clevaland’s #37 and Shaun Rogers, DT

S&B (BJ Raji / Tyson Jackson @ 7 because run d is 31st)

That way the Raiders get a NT and an extra high 2nd rounder.

The Raiders could then package their extra 2nd rounder and a 3rd rounder to trade up to get Alex Mack, for you Mack fans

JHill (We Need A Lot Of Help On Offense!)

I can’t see Jason Smith being available at 7. I’m taking so many more guys ahead of Michael Oher at 7.

Do you realize who we would be leaving on the board to take Oher at 7? You have to apply the same logic to Oher that you do to Mack at 7, trade down.

Looks like my post was actually edited by loser boy. Here is the post in it’s entirety. Sad that loser boy now has to resort to editing my comments. You would think that with the 10 million posts I have made, you could find some inaccuracies. I guess not.

# oakglenn Says:
September 30th, 2007 at 8:00 pm

Rain, go to the archives. Everything I’ve said has been totally accurate. All I’ve said, is we can win with Mccown, Culpepper, Russell, shoot, Andrew Walter. I don’t care who they put in there. I have confidence each of ‘em can win. Go back and look. find me and quote me.I’m a huge Daunte fan, dude. Realistically tho, the fins suck and coaching staff didn’t ask Daunte to win the game. He asked the o line to win it. And they did. End of story.
2nd thing I said was booing your own team is moronic. Show me an instance in modern sports history where fans booed their own team to victory. Today, both idiot whiner fan, and dumbsh** Discharger fan booed their teams, and the more they booed, the worst both teams played. Hey, yes, you have the right to boo, but as I’ve said, what’s the difference between a Bronco fan booing the Raiders and a Raider fan booing the Raiders??? Answer: nothing. Those are two of the points I’ve made: we can win with the guys we’ve got, let’s all get in the same direction, watch each others backs and take on all comers. Kind of an easy philosphy really

JHill (We Need A Lot Of Help On Offense!)

Oak, you’re creating a problem that is not there. Henderson gave up zero sacks and had zero penalties, and they brought in competition to push him at LT. Russell was 60% behind him. How about improving the obvious hole at RT and C.

# JHill (We Need A Lot Of Help On Offense!) Says:
March 21st, 2009 at 6:29 pm

I can’t see Jason Smith being available at 7. I’m taking so many more guys ahead of Michael Oher at 7.

Do you realize who we would be leaving on the board to take Oher at 7? You have to apply the same logic to Oher that you do to Mack at 7, trade down.

I’d take Mack before Oher.
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Problem is, LT’s are worth an infinite amount more than centers. I was using either Smith or Oher as examples that two of the top 4 LT’s should be available when we pick, provided Detroit takes Stafford at #1. It’s amazing that the #4 LT in the draft will probably go before the lst center is taken. As Run DMC would say, it’s just the way it is.

JHill (We Need A Lot Of Help On Offense!)

Here’s a trade that should make everyone happy!

Oakland Raiders trade their #7 pick to Cleveland for:

Clevaland’s #37 and Shaun Rogers, DT

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That’s awful S&B …

On one hand, it says that Shaun Rogers is better than BJ Raji, which I happen to agree with.

But the difference between Gerrard Warren and Shaun Rogers is what? Rogers would be on his 3rd team. He was a bust on the Lions. Had one good year on a bad defense. And he’s already on his way to a 3rd team.

# JHill (We Need A Lot Of Help On Offense!) Says:
March 21st, 2009 at 6:34 pm

Oak, you’re creating a problem that is not there. Henderson gave up zero sacks and had zero penalties, and they brought in competition to push him at LT. Russell was 60% behind him. How about improving the obvious hole at RT and C.

No way we get one of the top Cs in the 3rd round.
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We ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO fix the problem at LT. MUST. Otherwise we are not going to win, and we could RUIN an overall number one pick. I am not sold on Henderson, and neither is the coaching staff. Barnes has gotten worse every single year. Why, I don’t know. Maybe opponents have found a hole in his game and are now exploiting it. That may also be true of Henderson. Opponents have not seen enough of him to know how to exploit him. Hence why I am advocating taking Smith, Smith, Oher, Monroe, whoever is available. There is no other position on the team in a more dire situation. And that goes for safety, WR and DE or DT. And say you grab Oher or Andre Smith, you could grab Sean Smith the safety in the 2nd round, which would REALLY help your defense, and if he wasn’t there, go for one of the defensive ends at that point.

Lastly, surely, either Eric Wood, Jon Luigs, or Antoine Caldwell will be available in the 3rd round, maybe even the top of the 4th. And those are VERY VERY good centers.

JHill (We Need A Lot Of Help On Offense!)

There you go with that value thing again. To me, I line up the top 15 players regardless of position 1-15. When I pick at 7, I look at my list and take the highest guy on my list at a position that I can use right away.

I take Alex Mack at 7 if Curry, Crabtree, and Smith are off the board. I’m not going to say, OH, he’s a C, I can’t take him now. Especially when I have no one at the position now. If I overspend a little to get the guy I’m sure will be there for 10 years, then that’s what it would be.

Jhill, that is how 99% of the teams do it. Very smart. I just have Monroe and Jason Smith on my big board as well. One of ’em has to land in our laps I would hope.

Value DOES come into play here tho. I am sure there are teams that have Eric Wood or Max Unger graded higher than Alex Mack. Let’s say a team drafting high needs a center like we do. Well, they are not going to take Eric Wood in the top 10 even if they LOVE him, because they know he will be available in later rounds and can solve other issues and still get him.

JHill (We Need A Lot Of Help On Offense!)

We ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO fix the problem at LT. MUST.

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We’ll be the same, and what he means by that is what you saw in Tampa Bay,” Cable said. “There was more two-tight end (sets), those types of things, more power in the system and formations.”

Mario did a fine job in those last three games. You can’t argue with it and I think for us to get better in the offensive line it’s important to get competition in there,” Cable said. “That may mean in the draft, that may mean in free agency, as we’ve done alittle bit. But the biggest key right now is he’s proved himself and he’s gone out and done some good things.”

When pressed on a possible move, Cable said, “`Right now, he’s the left tackle for sure.”

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Mario has not left the building since the season ended. Meanwhile we literally have no one at C, and I guess your happy with Pears as an upgrade over Green at RT? Or do you see Henderson as our RT for the next 10 years?

blackdeath29

Lions take a look at B.J. Raji … or do they?
Posted by Philip Zaroo | MLive.com March 13, 2009 10:29AM
Categories: Draft
I’m not saying I think the Detroit Lions are going to use the first pick in the draft to take Boston College’s B.J. Raji. But they certainly could use a big, strong (and young) defensive tackle.

And what’s most interesting to me is that Raji’s name has not been associated with the Lions’ first-round pick, despite the draft’s dearth of talented interior linemen on defense.

In terms of Mayhew’s admitted obfuscation &ndash that’s right, obfuscation – regarding the pick, couldn’t one interpret the lack of interest as actual interest? Then again, maybe they’re really interested in the other defensive lineman from B.C., Ron Brace, for a lower pick. Ahh, the mysteries of life…

Of course, last year’s first-round pick of the Lions, offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus, is putting in a plug for his ex-teammate.

MLive.com, March 13: While sitting out 2007, Raji played on BC’s scout team. Sometimes he went up against offensive tackle Gosder Cherulis, who was drafted last April by Detroit with the 17th overall pick.
“B.J. might be the best overall pick right now in this draft,” said Cherulis, who watched the workouts. “You can draft him right now and he’ll be ready for you because he’s quick and smart. Ron, we didn’t know what to think of him when he first got here, but he really put himself in this position.”

While I’m sure Cherilus is biased, I can’t imagine him pushing for Raji – especially behind the scenes – unless he feels he really is that good.

JHill (We Need A Lot Of Help On Offense!)

I don’t know Oak …

In a way we are saying the same thing. We need a starting OT and a starting C. If we ended up with Oher or Andre Smith and Wood or Unger, I wouldn’t be upset at all. I would just expect them to play RT and C while Henderson and Barnes battle it out at LT.

And if they suck at LT next year, I’d draft a LT with next years #1 pick.

Raider O

A center at 7th!!!! No way. Who is going to pay a center 25 mil signing bonus and 50 mil contract?!?!?! Mack at 7th is crazy talk.

# JHill (We Need A Lot Of Help On Offense!) Says:
March 21st, 2009 at 7:08 pm

I don’t know Oak …

And if they suck at LT next year, I’d draft a LT with next years #1 pick.
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One thing Jhill that most sports GM’s will tell you is they would rather be 4-12 a year or two than 8-8 because when you are mired in that 8-8, 7-9 range, you don’t get access to the truly excellent players in the draft. That’s what makes this draft so intriguing. First off, I can’t remember a draft that has SOOO MANY excellent LT prospects. 2ndly, this (hopefully) will be the last time we are drafting this highly for a loooooong while. And we have to make it count!! This has to be a big time draft for us.

Raider O

I think JHill us right. Come draft day, we should take the best player available except RB, QB, and TE. One of the top 3 OTs, Crab, Raji, Orakpo, Curry, and Maclin. And we see who will be there at 7, and who cab make the most impact his rookie year, and that should be the pick. I say We should take Raji if he’s available.

Raider O

I think JHill is right. Come draft day, we should take the best player available except RB, QB, and TE. One of the top 3 OTs, Crab, Raji, Orakpo, Curry, and Maclin. And we see who will be there at 7, and who can make the most impact his rookie year, and that should be the pick. I say We should take Raji if he’s available.

So it comes down to the best player available ( like JHill Said) who can make an impact his rookie year. History showed that rookie WR don’t usually have good rookie years, and they need time to learn NFL routes, and how to play against press and such things. Raji, OT, and Orakpo can make an impact right away.

darkknight01

# Dakota Says:
March 20th, 2009 at 3:11 pm

Just for fun, since I know it will not happen as long as Al is alive…and the Eagles would never do it but…

Raiders trade down with the Eagles, who select Crabtree at #7. Raiders select C Mack at 21, T Britton at 28, and NT Brace at 40.

^^^^^^^
Nice….and then they can go LB in Round 3 like Jasper Brinkley, then in Round 4 go WR Patrick Turner or best DE available.

Raider O

If we can draft a center in the 3rd, then I would like us to draft SS William Moore in the 2nd, and have Branch play FS. He can use his speed and CB play abiliity to make plays. We can him and Huff in Nickle. Draft Raji in the 1st, JB in the 4th, DE or Oline in the 6th, and best player available at 7th.

darkknight01

# M Says:
March 21st, 2009 at 4:00 pm

If Cable and Michalczik are satisfied that the OTs on the roster now will keep JRuss clean and open holes for the multi-headed running attack, well then, good. But just think how differently would have been written the last decade in the NFL if the Raiders had been able to snag the T they wanted in Orlando Pace rather than to have to settle for DRuss.
If Jason Smith or Eugene Monroe or Andre Smith or Michael Oher are THAT guy then it would be wise to go after him no matter who is presently on the roster.
Center. If Alex Mack is THAT guy then go after him and care not what the draft position number says.

^^^^^^^Sorry but drafting Mack at #7 would be another STUPID move by the old man and would be a waste pick IMO. Why draft Mack at #7 when he can be had between 15-24?? Especially since some have Unger and Wood rated HIGHER at Center?

It would make no freakin sense and that dumb of a move would rank right up there with the old man drafting a freakin Kicker in Round 1.

And, I know Gruden was going to leave anyway. Of course he wanted to leave. Nobody wants to work for Al Davis. But had we kept him for the remainder of his contract, we’d have our 4th lombardi trophy, and today Gruden would be the 49ers Head Coach. To Al, that lombardi wasn’t worth seeing the Niners do good with Gruden.

Maclin is a perfect size, and our #1 WR won’t be returning punts in the NFL… JLH is small. Perfect slot guy or #2 WR.

Thomas Davis The Fifith

god bless those four brave souls that kept our city safe, I wonder what Dmac thinks of this

Oakglenn

You guys are idiots!

Voldemort

Crabtree is way better than Maclin. It would be insane to take Maclin with Crab available.

Mad Road Dog

The quickest way to improve the Raiders over all is to make sure the “O” is dominant by bringing Pace, drafting Smith at #7 and trading up to get Mack. Now there is can’t miss competition at each position as Henderson can push Carisle at RG. This kind of dominant line super elevates the play of JR, the RBs and the WRs.

It translates into a solid running game and a passing attack that equates to a balanced offense. The kind of offense that keeps the defense fresh and with few other “D” picks in the later rounds would get the Raiders to the playoffs.

Getter done!

Raider O

No reason for insults. If you don’t like my post, why not ignore it. I think you wouldn’t call people idiots in real life, so you do it safely behind your PC. Show some class.